Automobile signal



Aug. 5 1924. K

C. H. LEWIS Au'roloBxLn SIGNAL Patented Aug. 5, 1924.

UNITED STATES CHAR-LES H. LEY/VIS, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

UTODOBILE SIGNAL.

Application tiled April 7,

To ZZ whom t may conce/ra.:

its it known that l, Clientes H. Lnwis, a of the United States, andresident of c dity and county of Denver, State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Automobile Signals; and ll do declare the following to be a full, clear, and enact description of the invention; such as will enable others skilled in the. art to which it appertains to. make and use the same., reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

`iect of this invention is to provide a simple and cheap `means for signaling to pedestrians and 'other machines all the movements of an automobile in advance of the movements, either by day or by night.

lirietly the invention comprises a rotatable ,i Asing adapted to indicate movements to the right, left, forward and reverse, which is equally serviceable. for both day and night drifting, the casing being rotatable different amounts in different directions to show the signal. A control leads to the seat and is manually operable for selectively through varying .slow down.

ln the accompanying drawings wherein certain embodiments of the invention are disclosed,

Fig. 1 an elevation of the signal with parts broken away showing the face of the device indicated by line 1-1;

F ig. 2 is an edge elevation as indicated by line 2-2;

Fig. 3 is a sectional detail taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. d is an elevation of the control mounted on the steering post;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of said conl trol;

Fig. is a diagrammatic showing of the various positions to be indicated by the device;

Fig. ".7 shows the signal in position on an automobile;

Fig. 8 is a view indicated the mounting of the stop or slow signaling means.

riShe signal comprises a circular casing 10 which carries lenses 12 on its opposite sides by means of beads 14, said lenses being translucent and having arrows 15 delineated 1922. serial no. 550,430.

thereon preferably in red'v andpointing in the same direction. One end ofthe casing carries overlapping tongues 16 and 18A between which the opposite end of the casing is received as seen best in Fig. 3. The outer tongue 18 has an ear 20 thereon which cooperates with an ear 22 on a tongue 23 on the other end of the casing, whereby the L)arts are maintained assembled relation as by means of a bolt 2,4. A socket 25 for alight bulb B is carried on the innertongue 16, and an electric conductor 26 leads through the casing to the socket. Thev outer tongue 18 carries a depending supporting sleeve 28 rotatablymounted upon a' hollow stein 30 carried in a bracket 32 and secured therein as by means of a set screw 34. The bracket is in two sections pivotally connected at for ready adjustment, and the inner end thereof Fits over the upper end of a windshield post 36 or the. like being retained thereon as by a set screw 38.

rThe casing is rotated through the medium of a flexible shaft el() carried in va flexible housing L2 which passes upward through the hollow stem 3G. the shaft s() being secured to the casing at the base vof the socket 25 as shown. rllhus rotation of the shaft l0 will shift the signal to the various positions shown in 6. A globe. is provided upon the lop of the casing 10, as seen in Figs. il, 7 and 8, and has an electric cord 46 leading theretor within the casing as shown. n switch, not shown, is provided for controlling this light, and said switch may be operable manually, or through either the brake or clutch pedal. Preferably, this globe will be red, so that whenever contact is made, as by depressing the pedal, a red light will be shown to indicate that the driver is about to stop or slow down, and if desired the globe may carry the word Stop or the word Slow This globe, being on top of the casing, will be visible whatever the direction indicated by the casing.

The means for operating the flexible shaft d() is mounted upon a bracket 52 carried by the post P which supports the steering wheel WT. lVithin this bracket 52 the end of the shaft 4:0 is `iournaled adjacent one end, whiley at the other end it carries a suitable mounting 54. `Upon the extremity of the shaft al) a pair of arms 55 and 56 are journaled, these arms being connected by a spring 38 for returning them both into engagement lill' CII man

with a fixed pin projecting from the bracket 52 as shown at 60. An operating lever 62 is fixed to the shaft l0 for rotating the same and has a pin projecting therefrom at 64 directly in line with pin 60 so as to be positioned between the arms 55 and 56. rl`hus by moving the lever 62 in one direction, the shaft will be correspondingly rotated and the respective arms 55 and 56 will be moved so as to tension the spring 58 and insure return of the parts by said spring to normal position after release. The lever 62 is positioned in the vicinity of the circumference of the steering wheel IV as seen in Fig. so that it may be easily manipulated without entirely removing the hand from the wheel.

In using the device, the casing will be set normally so that the arrows l5 will point straight ahead and the small window i8 in the rear thereof will be seen, this window 48 preferably being red. By moving the lever 62 a quarter turn in one direction, the arrows will point to the left, while a quarter turn in the opposite direction will cause the arrows to point te the right (Fig. 6). By turning the lever 62 a half turn, which may be accomplished readily by proper set cf the bracket 52, the casing will be turned so that the arrows l5 point to the rear and the. small window 50 in the front ofthe casing, which is preferably geen and normally is directed forward, now faces rearward. The

' spring 58 always returns the parts to normal upon release of lever 62. Stop or Slow will be indicated by illuminating the globe 45.

I claim:

l. A signal comprising a casing rotatable on a vertical axis, direction indicating means on opposite sides thereof pointing` in 'the same direction with reference to the casi said means normally pointing ahead, au means for rotating said casing through 90) to indicate movement in either transve"- direction and through 180O to indicate mo. ment rearward, selectively.

2. A signal comprising a casing rotatable on a vertical axis, direction indicating means on opposite sides of said casing pointing in the same direction and visible by day, an illuminating device to render said means visible by night, means to rotate said casing to indicate either transverse direction, and means adapted 'to be illuminated mounted upon the top of said casing for indicating Stop- 3. A signal comprising a casing rotatable on a vertical axis, direction indicating means on opposite sides of said casing and visible by day, an illuminating device for rendering the same visible by night, means to rotate the casing through 90 to indicate either transverse direction and through i800 to indicate reverse selectively, and means on the front and rear of said casing when set in normal straight ahead position adapted to be illuminated to indicate front and rear at night.

4. A signal comprising a casing rotatable on a vertical axis, the sides of said casing being translucent and having direction indicating means delineated thereon pointing in the same direction and visible by day, an il.- luminating device for rendering said means visible by night, means for selectively rotating the casing` to indica-te either transverse direction, and means eXteriorly mounted at the tog of the casing and adapted to be il* luminated for indicating stop at night.

5. A. signal comprising a casing rotatable on a vertical axis, the sides of the casing being` translucent and having direction indicating means delineated thereon which are visible by day, an illuminating device with-- in the casing for rendering said means visible by night, means for selectively moving said casing to indicate either transverse direction, and means permanently visible en teriorly mounted upon the casing and adapted to be illuminated at night for indi-- eating stop.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

CHAR-LES H. LEI/VIC. 

